Tooth decay and dental disease can be caused by bacterial action resulting from the formation of plaque about the teeth and/or the entrapment of food particles between the teeth and interstices therebetween. The removal of plaque and entrapped food particles reduces the incidence of caries, gingivitis, and mouth odors as well as generally improving oral hygiene. Conventional brushing has been found to be inadequate for removing all entrapped food particles and plaque. To supplement brushing, dental flosses and tapes have been recommended. The term "dental floss", as used herein, is defined to include both dental flosses, dental tapes and any similar article.
Dental floss is typically distributed in dispensers that have circular bobbins rotatably mounted therein. Each bobbin is formed of a core that has been wound with dental floss. The tail end of floss from the bobbin is typically threaded first through an eyelet at the top of the dispenser and then through a cut bar that is also positioned at the top of the dispenser. In order to draw a length of floss from the dispenser, a user grasps the tail end of the floss, pulls until the desired length of floss has been drawn from the dispenser, and then cuts the drawn length using the cut bar. As the user pulls the floss from the dispenser, the bobbin in the dispenser rotates, thereby allowing the floss on the bobbin to unwind.
During the manufacturing of dental floss products, automated winding machines are used to wind floss onto empty bobbin cores. These automated winding machines typically use a mounting apparatus such as a winding arbor for receiving and holding bobbin cores during the winding process. Each winding arbor must typically be loaded with an empty bobbin core prior to the time any floss is wound on the bobbin core. It is possible to perform this bobbin core loading operation manually, however, the use of labor for this operation is undesirable from a cost point of view.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an efficient and cost-effective system for loading empty bobbin cores onto winding arbors in an automated fashion.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an automated system for loading bobbin cores one-at-a-time onto winding arbors.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a bobbin core loading system which can monitor and verify that bobbin core loading has occurred.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a bobbin core loader that is resistant to jamming.
These and still other objects of the invention will become apparent upon study of the accompanying drawings and description of the invention.